Unbroken Essay Papers

Award-Winning author Laura Hillenbrand writes of the invigorating survival story of Louie Zamperini in her best selling book, Unbroken. Louie Zamperini was an ambitious, record-breaking Olympic runner when he was drafted into the American army as an airman during World War II. On the mission that led him to embark on a journey of dire straits, Louie’s plain crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving only him and two other crewmen as survivors. Stranded on a raft in shark infested waters, without any resources or food, and drifting toward enemy Japanese territory, the men now have to face their ultimate capture by Japanese, if they survive that long. Louie responded to his desperation with dexterity, undergoing his plight with optimism and confidence,

The three survivors, Louie, Phil, and Mac, all had completely differing perspectives of their trouble. Louie and Phil stayed optimistic, while Maxc slowly deteriorated along with his hope. Hillenbrand wrote that "It remains a mystery why these three young men, veterans of the same training and same crash, differed so radically in their perceptions of their plight. Maybe the difference was biological; some men may be wired for optimism, others for doubt... Perhaps the men's histories had given them opposing convictions about their capacity to overcome adversity... Though all three men faced the same hardship, their differing perceptions of it appeared to be shaping their fates. Louie and Phil's hope displaced their fear and inspired them to work toward their survival, and each success renewed their physical and emotional vigor. Mac's resignation seemed to paralyze him, and the less he participated in their efforts to survive, the more he slipped. Though he did the least, as the days passed it was he who faded the most. Louie and Phil's optimism, and Mac's hopelessness, were becoming self-fulfilling" (147-148). Hillenbrand considers how each man’s perspective seemed to be guiding their future. Since Louie and Phil stayed optimistic, they pressed on, despite their predicament. Mac, on the other hand, perished along with his

He became obsessed with the Bird, wanting revenge for the torture he had gone through. Louie resorted to alcoholism as a coping mechanism, and blamed all of his ongoing problems on the Bird. Around the world, the war was over; in Louie's mind, it raged on. For a period of time, Louie could not persevere through his plight. He began to lose his once irrevocable hope, and feared the man that be was becoming. Finally, after his wife dragged him to a religious preaching, Louie had a spiritual revelation and let go of his built up resentment of the Bird. He stopped drinking alcohol, no longer had nightmares, and devoted the rest of his life to preach and share his experience in World War II. He even visited his Japanese tormentors, now imprisoned and facing trial, and forgave them. Louie proved that it is possible to redeem yourself, and people who keep an optimistic mind during times of hardship are the ones who overcome